February Talk on the Cerne Abbas Giant by Mike Allen

 We were very fortunate to welcome Mike Allen, a geoarchaeologist and environmental archaeologist who coordinated all the archaeological science for the Cerne Giant excavations. A link to the information we were given prior to the talk is here. I took photos of the slides Mike posted for us while he talked about the magnitude of the hill carving. At Bangor University in 1970, I was impressed with our rag week attempts to raise money for WWT when some students carved a panda into a local hillside. The link here lists later exploits for rag week. I have a lifelong interest in hill figures as a result of this early exposure to them.

Mike produced some very informative slides to help answer questions and elucidate what we now know about the figure after his research.

The Cerne Abbas Giant is found in Dorset, north of Weymouth and Dorchester and surrounded by archaeological sites

This slide showed how he's changed over the years, basically in 1908 the navel was incorporated into  the phallus during a scouring operation, increasing it by 6 feet.

Apart from why this man was carved into a prominent hillside, there's also the question when was it carved and as you can see from the table, many people differed in their views

Above some handy stats

And a comparison with Wilmington Man in Sussex who isn't nearly as impressive is he?

There's clearly a book about the research available if you click on the link above

Even before the optically stimulated luminescence results, OSL, they discovered which snails were in the hill wash.

Interesting to see Ravilious painted both hill men, but gave the Giant a brown outline

I've enlarged the last slide for the conclusions because they are fascinating

'Seriously...' the Friend's exhibition

 When thinking of a title for the Friend's exhibition, we felt we couldn't improve on Sir Kenneth Clark's comments over 50 years ago when he said 'They take art seriously in Swindon'. We reflected on this in the Museum and Art website write up of our exhibition. I thought it was worth going a bit further into how this phrase has been used as recently as 2012 when the Public Catalogue Foundation photographed the Swindon Collection of 20th Century art. An exhibition was held then titled 'They take Art Seriously in Swindon' opened by the Patron of the Public Catalogue Foundation: then HRH The Duchess of Cornwall, now Queen Camilla.

The booklet accompanying the exhibition had this cover:

 Monteiro, Vicente de Rego, 1899-1970, Tennis (detail) 1928 

Unsure why a Brazilian artist's painting was chosen for the front cover

and the following on the first page:

Dr Fred Hohler, Founder of the Public Catalogue Foundation said the following as a Foreword:

''I am frequently asked the question ''What has the Public Catalogue Foundation discovered?'' Of course we have discovered nothing. All we can hope to do is to rediscover what previous generations knew about, loved and respected and which the present generation has lost. 

Losing sight of these collections and their contents can happen very quickly. Sir Kenneth Clarke made his remark ''They take art seriously in Swindon'' less than 50 years ago. Yet, when the Gloucester and Wiltshire catalogue was launched in the summer of last year it was clear that very few people knew of the Swindon Art Gallery or the extraordinary quality of its collection of paintings by twentieth century British artists.

The loss of the Swindon Art Gallery would be tragic!

Today's visit therefore, to Swindon Art Gallery by the Patron of the Public Catalogue Foundation, HRH The Duchess of Cornwall, is particularly welcome. I very much hope that it will inspire a re-discovery of the gallery and its rich collection of paintings.

It deserves never to be forgotten.''

We would all echo that sentiment, hence the name for the exhibition, bringing some of the favourite works on show again for the first time in at least 5 years.

'Seriously ...' is not the only art exhibition coming to MAS. There is also an exhibition entitled 'A Very British Art Revolution' Rebellion and reaction in the early 20th century from 11th March to 5 July in one of the large galleries.

Here are 2 posters advertising both exhibitions with their dates:

Plus if you are a member of the Friends, you will be invited to a private view to celebrate the opening of both exhibitions. Exciting eh?

'Seriously ...' FMAS Choices and the Process

 I am really pleased to let you know about an exhibition opening on Tuesday 25 February, of works chosen by members of the Friends of Museum and Art Swindon which will be displayed in the small gallery where an exhibition of Wessex Landscapes was shown alongside the Hardy exhibition. Those involved will be giving a talk to the Friends on Thursday 24 April so I don't want to give away too much of the process by which items were selected, or talk too much about the works selected because it will be good for most of it to be a surprise. 

The first call outs via email went out to the Friends in August 2024 asking for volunteers to get involved in selecting artworks and ceramics from the collection. There were six of us initially involved and then this whittled down to a regular three of us meeting Katie Ackrill, Collections and Exhibitions Officer to suggest works and then vote on them. This was a fascinating process which went on seemingly for weeks as we kept meeting and trying to reach a consensus and respect differences in taste without getting too personal. We learnt a lot about the collections and to appreciate works we had never really looked at properly. 

A couple of weeks ago, we were invited by Katie for a day to help hang the exhibition, what a fabulous opportunity! Naturally I took a few photos to remind us of the day and share with others. I'll start with a serious shot of three of the main selectors: from the left Miles Franklin, Claire Parsons and me, Linda Kasmaty. Although Claire was wearing a gorgeous red coat, we decided that black and white looked good.

                 

I'll now add a few of the hanging day photos:

Some paintings had the correct fixings for the hanging system, others didn't

Some of you will recognise Andrew Cross Chair of the Friends who joined us to help on the day

In the background you'll see John Wood, Collections and Exhibitions Manager, as well as Katie Ackrill

It was a real treat to be able to see the reverse side of paintings

Miles and Andrew in action

and looking at 'Monument'

This is the reverse side of the Bomberg

above more fitting fixing

Above one of my favourite ceramic pieces some of you may remember on display at Apsley House. It is made by Laurance Simon and one of 50 ceramics gifted by Mark Golder and Brian Thomson in 2015 in memory of Ron Sloman . There was much discussion about this piece.

It takes four people to hang a painting!!

Appreciating the work once it's on the wall

'Jerusalem' by David Bomberg was chosen by John Walsh, a long standing member of the Friends who played a large role in the committee at one time. The frame was really heavy.

We also described, said what we liked about 3 works on another day. Katie will edit what we have said down to 5minutes I think and it will appear on Bloomberg Connects. Also look out for descriptions of works by those who chose them which will appear beside the works, possibly.

More on this exhibition in the next blog post.

The Glasgow Boys - January talk

 Dr Keith Parsons was very kindly able to step in at the last moment when the scheduled speaker could not give the talk. Keith gave an illustrated talk about The Glasgow Boys  a group of a radical young painters who represent the beginnings of modernism in Scottish painting. In the early 1880s, disillusioned with academic painting, they painted contemporary rural subjects often working outdoors. Strong influences include French and Dutch painters including Jules Bastien-Lepage 1848-1884 and American painter James McNeill Whistler 1834-1903.

In the 1880s, Glasgow was a very successful shipbuilding city with two art institutions, the Glasgow School of Art and the Institute of Fine Arts, a perfect place for a new art movement to emerge with all important patrons like William Burrell 1861-1958 and art dealer Alex Reid playing their part in buying and displaying artworks artists. 

Notable artists from this time included Sir James Guthrie 1859-1930 whose two paintings seen below are hauntingly memorable and beautiful

Above 'In the Orchard' and below 'A Hind's Daughter'

and below, another painting by Sir James Guthrie 'To Pastures New' below

Above 'A Cabbage Garden' by Arthur Melville 1855-1904 and below 'The White Drake' by Arthur Melville 1855-1904

In these few examples of works by the Glasgow Boys, subjects seem to be white fowl, cabbages and an orchard.

Where to see works from the Glasgow Boys:

William Burrell patron and art collector, amassed a collection of over 8000 artworks which he gave to Glasgow in 1944, known as the Burrell Collection, it is now housed in a specially designed building in Pollok National Park in Glasgow. There's also Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum to visit. Plus the Fleming Collection which loans works from its 600 pieces. The Scottish National Gallery is situated in Edinburgh.

I can imagine questions about The Glasgow Girls, and yes there were women artists at the turn of the last century with distinctive styles. Well worth investigating another time. I think we have enough galleries to visit in Glasgow to make it a must see destination. Thank you once again Dr Keith Parsons for this fascinating talk.

All Change on the Friend's Committee

 At the recent Friend's AGM on 5 December we had a change among the committee members. The new line up we hope we revitalise Museum and Art Swindon in its new home in the Civic Offices.

I stood down as Chair after 10 years and was replaced by Andrew Cross, with Antonia Holt as Vice Chair in place of Dr Barbara Swann who has relocated to Swansea. The full list can be seen on our website. It is taking a while to get used to not sending out emails to members, but I hope to be able to carry on writing this blog. 

We had a meeting to discuss 'the way forward' and I tired to capture a bit of the atmosphere of the meeting. I think it would be better to get everyone together and pose for a photograph and also get individual photos for the website

Above Rosemary Savage and Carl Gomez and below clockwise, Andrew Cross, Antonia Holt, Brigid Harkness and Martin Styles

Two members couldn't attend, they are Angela Atkinson and Claire Parsons.

Talks 2025

 Talks are now being organised by Carl Gomez who is also managing the membership.

The list of talks for 2025 is almost complete., they will be held  at 7.30pm in the Council Chamber,  Full details of all talk will appear on the website when we have them.

Jan 30th - Dr Keith Parsons on The Glasgow Boys

The Glasgow Boys were a group of Scottish based artists who made a big splash in the art world of the 1880s with their challenge to the art establishment and adoption of the new “realistic” style. This talk will explore who they were, who they were influenced by, and their impact on Scottish art. The talk will be illustrated with examples of some of their works, together with their influences, put in the context of the art world of their time. We will finish with information on where you can see their works displayed today.

 

Dr Keith Parsons is a retired research scientist with an interest in both history and art. He currently serves as Secretary of Chiseldon Local History Group and is active in Swindon U3A.

The painting Is 'Pastures New' by James Guthrie

27th Feb - Mike Allen on the Cerne Abbas Giant

27th Mar - Ann Rachel Harwood on Antarctic Explorer Edward Adrian Wilson

24th Apr- Seriously ...- Miles Franklin and Claire Parsons

29th May - Mark Golder on the artist Stephen Russ

26th June - Michael Gray on the history of Tarot Card art

31st July - Gavin Jones on the art of Tattooing 

28th Aug - Kirsty Hartsiotis on Stained glass in the Arts and Craft movement

Sep 25th tbc

30th Oct tbc

27th Nov - Phillip Garrahan on Swindon Art in the Age of Steam 

Artists in Purbeck: Sense of Place

 I visited this exhibition, Artists in Purbeck: Spirit of Place at Russell-Cotes Art Gallery and Museum at the beginning of January after hearing about the exhibition from its Guest Curator, Dr Gill Clarke MBE who is well known to many of us having been kind enough to give several talks over the years. 

From Swindon it is possible to travel on the train to Bournemouth in 2 hours with one change at Reading, making it feasible to make the trip in a day. I took photos of the exhibition and a few more, of course. The day was very sunny with a cloudless sky, making the outside of Russell-Cotes look even more magnificent than usual:

By the front entrance there was a lovely selection of tender succulents looking undamaged by frost, this was before the hard frosts of the last week.

We had lunch in the Russell-Cotes cafe; here are Sarah and Lyn seen below sitting in front of the enlarged facsimile of one of the paintings of Corfe Castle in the exhibition.

There's a temporary exhibition space at R-C comprising two rooms, below there's a photo of the entrance to the exhibition with the Corfe Castle painting at the centre and depicting the Purbeck area with some information about the exhibition on the right hand side. This area is known as the 'Isle of Purbeck' constituting about sixty square miles with sea on three sides. The dramatic landscape has attracted artists to this area over the twentieth century and this is the first major exhibition devoted to some of the major artists who painted in the area, The Swanage News also had a big spread on the exhibition and also noted the lovely seat in the cafe.

The best way of appreciating the exhibition is to visit, but here are a few of my favourite pieces from the exhibition:

Above this is 'The Blue Pool', 1910, by Augustus John, the blue pool is a landlocked pool near Furzebrook, long since ceased to be a site for Purbeck Ball Clay extraction for tobacco pipe manufacture and pottery, the pool always looks a vibrant blue colour. This is caused by the light refraction of clay particles suspended in the water. John wrote 'This pool.... is always a beautiful turquoise blue, no matter what the sky is like.' The model in the painting is one of his favourite models, Dorelia McNeil.

This is another more recent watercolour and pastel on paper rendition of the 'Blue Pool', 2022 by Felicity House drawn and painted on site. Makes me want to go and visit, although it has been developed into a tourist attraction.

On loan from Pallant House Gallery, this painting 'Near Swanage', 1916 by Mark Gertler is stunning in any exhibition, here it looks wonderfully at home. When he painted this work, he was staying with his patron at Peveril House, he described the 'wonderful country here' to Dora Carrington, he explained: 'from every window one gets a good enough view for painting. The sea surrounds the house on two sides. There is just a bit of garden and then cliff, below which is open sea.'

And a further wow on seeing this acrylic and mixed media piece by Jeremy Gardiner, entitled 'Old Harry Rocks V, 2022 which are captured wonderfully by Jeremy Gardiner. 'Old Harry' was one of twenty locations on the Jurassic Coast painted by him between 2018 and 2022for his series 'Strata'.

Above 'Spray', 1940 by Harold Williamson is a very well known painting probably the location was Dancing Ledge near Swanage where the flat rock juts into the sea and was a site for quarrying stone. Williamson was an art teacher at Bournemouth School of Art and Manchester School of Art. His students where in awe of his life drawing skills and knowledge of anatomy admirably displayed here in the woman's back muscles.

'Coastline Series No.1', 1993 by Martin Brewster is an etching on paper. He has been drawing around the Dorset coast for over thirty five years. The beauty of the promontory has been wonderfully captured along with a small row of coastguard cottages and a chapel which can't be seen in the photo.

My final selection from the many I could have chosen from the exhibition is the one above. It's 'Corfe Castle in the Beauteous Isle of Purbeck', 1940 by Isabel Saul and is tempera on board. This magnificent highly detailed painting was exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1940. It's unsurprising that Saul also produced illustrations for children's books.

This wonderful exhibition left me wanting to find out more about the Isle of Purbeck and visit The blue Pool, Dancing Ledge, Peveril House and Old Harry Rocks. I think a trip to the Isle of Purbeck is necessary to fully understand this exhibition which runs until 16 March.

There is so much to see at R-C apart from the temporary exhibition that I have severely restricted my choices of the 'best bits'. I love William de Morgan tiles and there is a wonderful display at R-C, here one of them above. It's hard to photograph them because of reflections on their case

This painting entitled 'Painter and Model' is by John Minton. It was purchased through the Contemporary Arts Society in 1954 and is a stunning work featuring the artist in the background. The feet of the model are exquisitely depicted and because it's such a large painting, it's a real knock out when you enter the room.

OK the last photo from inside the gallery. 'Gypsy Horse Drovers', 1894 by Lucy Kemp-Welch was exhibited at the Royal Academy while she was still a student. It's a fabulous piece among so many other paintings which could have been included. 

Having spent hours looking at paintings, we went for a cream tea in the cafe and as we emerged from Russell-Cotes, the sun was setting behind the pier.

What a perfect day. Do go and visit the Artists in Purbeck: Spirit of Place exhibition before 16 March if you can.

Other posts on Russell-Cotes include these two:

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